The Seven Seals
by Polifilla
Summary: Why did Annie do what she did? POV of Armin
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so please go easy on me. I got inspiration for this story from a book called Thirteen Reasons Why. I hope you guys like it.

Thank you to khaleesi-heichou on tumblr for being my beta

I'll go ahead and shut up now

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

T for language

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Chapter 1: Crystal Clear

Armin's eyes cracked open at the sound of a knock at the door disrupting his sleep. He rubbed his eyes and shifted to the side of his bed so his legs hung off the side. He shifted his weight to his feet and steadied himself to walk. He began walking toward the door, but before he got the chance to open it, he noticed a thick envelope resting at the foot of the doorway.

He picked up the envelope and walked over to the desk where he set it down. He looked out the window to see the sun rising. It was early and he was able to sleep in, however curiosity got the better of him. Armin sat in the desk chair and took the envelope in his hands. He grabbed a nearby knife and cut open the wax seal of the envelope. He took out 7 slightly smaller envelopes.

Each of the envelopes he took out of the bigger one had a black number calligraphically written in the top right corner. Each had its own number as well as one of three wax seals: an image of one of the three goddesses for whom each wall is named. "What is all this?"To find his answer, Armin takes the envelope with the beautifully written "1" in the top right corner. He pops open the red seal of the goddess Maria and pulls out several sheets of paper and begins to read.

_Hello, everyone. I'm Annie Leonhardt. Immortalized in my own written words. _

"That's impossible."

_No bullshit. No avoiding. No excuse._

"But how? She's still crystallized underground in the dungeon."

_Are you ready? Too bad. I know you all had an impression of me being this antisocial bitch_. _So being that this is probably the first time some of you are hearing a word out of me, you are going to read and listen. These are the answers to your questions. This is why I killed and betrayed. And if you are one of the souls reading this, you're a reason why._

"What? B-but how? What did I do!?"

_So let's hear my side of the story shall we? I'm not telling which one of the letters connects you to my—our journey. But hey, don't worry, as long as these letters are in your possession, your name will come up soon enough._

"Is this real? Annie. . ."

_Two rules. One: You. Will. Read. From this first page to the last goddamn letter you received. Two: pass it down. It should go to the person whose name that appears on the letter after yours. As for person 7, these are to be destroyed afterward. If you go against me, there are copies of these that will reach the Supreme Commander and the king, and you can use your imagination as to how they will have you dealt with. Is that clear? With that said, make no mistakes. You are—_

Knock, knock, knock. "Hey, Armin, you awake?" Armin was startled by Eren's sudden disruption. He opened the door to reveal himself to his best friend. "Eren? Why are you up so early? You know we can sleep in?" "I know and we can also do almost whatever since heichou is in the capital for the week. So you want to go get food in the city?" "Uh...I think I'm alright, I'm not too hungry right now." "You okay?" "I'm fine." "Alright, well Mikasa and I will be back later then." Armin sat back down at his desk and took a deep breath.

_. . . With that said, make no mistakes. You are being watched._

I-I don't understand. Why would she write these? Is this a joke? Then again, why would someone make a joke like this? What do I have to do with anything?

_Now that you know how this is supposed to work, go to the next paper after this one, there is where we start._

Armin put the first sheet that had these instructions aside on the desk and picked up the next paper.

_Dear Mina Carolina,_

_Are you ready miss Mina? I guess you don't really have a choice. You're up first. You're probably wondering what the hell you're doing anywhere near this list. Well, let's find out together._

_Mina, there's a cute name. I guess it's appropriate for a cute girl. Cute smile, even a cute hairstyle that made you stand out and worked for you. Let's be honest, I might as well be right? You were technically my first "friend" at the trainee corps. Well, you were the first person whose face I didn't want to bash in. You had this spirit of a preppy schoolgirl, which made it easy for you to make friends. It was obviously convincing enough that it even fooled me. It always puzzled me those three years why you chose the most antisocial person to make friends with. Eh, whatever. _

_I have a question for you. How many people actually know about what you did? You know what I'm talking about, with Thomas. I wonder if the affair is why you guys broke up. Poor Thomas, he couldn't have seen that coming, especially not from you. But that's just the tip of the iceberg of what's under that schoolgirl disguise, isn't it? _

"Mina cheated on Thomas? That isn't something I'd expect from someone like her, she's so nice. I haven't even seen her since her discharge from her injury."

_Mina has a dark secret everyone. If I had known this about you earlier, I would have had you killed in a cruel and unusual way. That's right Mina, I'm exposing you right here. I bet what none of you knew about little miss Carolina over here is that her dad has a little family business. What's so bad about that? Well, it's not a kiosk or small storefront business. Her father is in charge of the largest human trafficking operation within the walls. And this, my darling, is why you are on this list. You tore my family apart. When I was eight years old, I came out of my room one day for a normal breakfast. But what I ended up with was coming out of my room to seeing my parents being held hostage with knives to their throats. Your father's men quickly grabbed me and held a knife to my throat as well. They beat my mother before my eyes and dragged her away to who knows where. My father turned bitter and hungry for revenge that day. He turned to me to do his dirty work. For the next four years, he brutally trained me for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. He taught me it was okay to make the world my enemy, because he would always be on my side. _

_So Mina, how many people's lives do you think your family ruined? Hundreds? Thousands? You took my mother and my life away from me and you dare to walk around with a smile? I'll let you in on a little secret of my own. You know your little discharge from the military? You're welcome. During the battle of Trost, I sabotaged your 3DMG. Your faulty gear did all the work for me. The defective parts made it easier for a titan to get to you and bite off your legs. Now you're only half of the person you should be. Just like me. _

_Love, Annie Leonhardt_

"A-Annie's the reason Mina's legs got eaten off!? Th-that's sick and twisted! How could she do something like that?"

Armin couldn't believe what he was reading. He was discovering the blonde titan shifter was not just blood thirsty as a titan, but demented as a human. Armin's words to Eren during his battle with Annie in Stohess began to echo in his head. "_Those who do not sacrifice anything cannot expect to change anything. Annie sacrificed her humanity."_

Armin set Mina's letter aside along with the page that had gone in front of it. Reaching for the envelope with the "2" written on it, he swallowed the lump in his throat. He slowly popped off the wax seal of the goddess Rose and pulled out the contents. He unfolded the letter in order to read once more what Annie had to say.

"No…"

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**A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed it, please leave a review if you did, I'd be happy to continue if you guys are interested in it :) Oh and for a little quiz, who do you think is the person the next letter is written to?


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, so I'm going to continue with this this story :) Thank you to nissangtrlover2569, atomic flash, and JasonVUK for the reviews :) Sorry if this chapter seems a little messy, for some reason, I had a hard time organizing my thoughts. Oh and to nissangtrlover, Thomas pulled her away from the battle, I kept him alive in this story, but he's not too important :)

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Chapter 2: Poor Little Princess

_Welcome back. I don't know which one of you on the list currently has these letters, but thanks for spending some time with me. If you're reading this you are either Mina with the curiosity to find out more, or you're someone else on the list waiting for your letter. So let's get started._

Armin let out a deep breath.

_This one should be fun to read, it's like a little educational documentary, only it's on someone we know personally. Are you ready, Christa?_

"No…"

_Doesn't matter, because you're going to have to read it anyway. You were always such a beautiful little thing. Nothing seemed to bring you down, at least not for long. You hate it when people don't get along. You also came across as a pacifist and played peacemaker when violence turned its head to tempt bickering people. So why then did you join the military, the Scouting Legion no less. You realize you put yourself into the branch of the military that would see the most violence? Well, I guess you had more guts than I thought. _

"Christa's on here too? How could she be tied into this mess?"

_I guess your charm is why you made so many friends in our training days. Actually,even I fell victim to it. I couldn't stay irritated at you...for long. Sure, sometimes you annoyed me, being that our personalities clashed, but how could anyone ever even think to hurt little Christa. You never really had trouble with any of the guys either now did you? Reiner, especially, developed a crush on you. You were perfect in his eyes. He'd talk about you so much my ears could have fallen off. Such a big guy and he could never work up the courage to talk to such a little girl like yourself. His thirst for you would emit off of him so much that I got dehydrated my damn self. It was pretty pathetic. I'm going off subject. You and I both know I'm not here writing this to talk about some horny teenage guys._

_Anyways, Christa—or actually, do you want still want to go by Christa? Would you like me to use your last name, Lenz? How about miss Lenz? Miss Christa? Oh wait, I know! How about Historia? That sounds right. It has a nice...ring to it don't you think, Historia? _

_Everyone, you should learn to bow before sweet little Christa's feet. And you might want to get used to calling her Historia, it will be helpful in the long run. Our little Christa is actually royalty. That's right. She is the true heir to the throne and should be the one with the crown. Christa Lenz's real name is Historia Reiss. She is of the Reiss family, the true royal family. For those of you who believe that there is corruption within the government in the walls, especially in Sina, you're absolutely right. _

_The family currently in the palace that assumes the royal title are just glorified wealthy puppets. About four generations ago, the Reiss family was still in power. Landry Reiss, the last person from the Reiss family to hold the throne, was a crowd favorite. He appealed to the people and brought good times for everyone in the walls, almost everyone. The group we know as the wall cult despised the king. The cult formed a secret alliance with the Fritz family, one of the richest nobles of the time. They plotted against the monarchy and won. Landry Reiss was assassinated and the Fritz family worked their way to power. Soon enough, the tables turned and the Fritzs became what you know now as the royals, while the Reiss family were demoted to just being wealthy nobles. _

"How does Annie know all this? And why wouldn't she tell anybody?"

_Since then, the corruptive influence has spread. Practically everyone in Sina are corrupt sons of bitches, from the wealthy civilians to the merchants, and yes, even the Military Police in its entirety. This, Christa, is why you are on this list. You need to let the roots of your past become your present. You are the heir to the throne and that is exactly where you are going to be. _

_Love, Annie Leonhardt_

Armin put down the letter and stroked the back of his head while letting out a deep breath. He looked out the window to find it was almost noon and Eren and Mikasa would be back soon. Knowing they would more than likely come to his room, he tried to clean up the letters. He put the contents of the first envelope back. As he was doing the same with the second letter, he held the envelope open to put it back into place, but found something else in the envelope.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Is there a second part? But then why would she sign the end of the first page instead of instructing to continue?" He noticed that the second paper within the envelope was a slightly different color than the first two papers Annie had written on. Those were tanner pieces of paper, this one was an off white.

Armin pulled out the off standish sheet. As he unfolded the paper, a key had fallen from it. He picked it up to inspect it. It was a key unlike from what Armin had seen. Normally, keys would be made of some type of metal. This key was transparent and very heavy for a key, even compared to a metal one. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was made completely of diamond. Armin's eyes widened in surprise. It had to have been crafted by a master. It was cut into a perfectly thin and concealable shape that it fit in the folded paper unnoticed, yet it would be stronger than a normal key due to its density.

He set the specially crafted key down and turned his attention back to the off white paper. "Another letter?" The handwriting was different.

_To whomever currently posses these letters:_

_There should be a key that came with this letter. Do not keep the key for yourself, please pass it down along with this chain of letters for the next person to use. This key unlocks the gates and the front doors of the Reiss estate. Go up the stairs and down the hallway on the right. Enter the second to last room and towards the makeup table with the mirror. There is where you will find it._

Armin looked up from the letter to see Eren and Mikasa through the window. They were heading towards the door and were going to come get him. He scrambled to quickly put everything back into place. He dumped all the envelopes into the original larger one and slipped it under the mattress enough to conceal it. He opened the door to see Eren with his arm outstretched as if he was about to knock.

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It was too early for this. Armin knew he had to get up this early if he had any hopes of getting to the Reiss estate in Sina without letting anyone know he had left the house and to reduce the risk of running into the Military Police.

The diamond key was a perfect fit for the gate and front doors of the estate. It was fairly dark. Armin could only see due to the dim light that was seeping through the nearby windows. He hesitated at the foot of the staircase. He climbed up the stairs and looked down both hallways. Deserted. He went down the hallway to his right as the letter had instructed him. "Right hallway. Second to last room." He turned the knob and pushed the door open producing a loud creak.

On the makeup table, there was a blue book. Armin picked it up to read it, but set it down when he realized there was something under where it had been: papers, just like the one that led him here. It even had the same handwriting that appeared on the off standish paper in the envelope.

_To you, from a poor little princess._

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**A/N: **So here's chapter two, hope you guys enjoy. Yes, it is Christa who left the letter for the others, but I don't state her name in case someone who wasn't on Annie's list came across it. But anyway, this time's quiz will be: What do you guys think Christa has to say in the letter she left for everyone?


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, guys, here's chapter 3. Thank you to nissangtrlover2569, atomic flash, and tentsubasa for the reviews :) Just to clarify in case there was any more confusion, the wall cult and the fritz family started the corruption in Sina and victimized the Reiss family, part of Annie's plan/actions is to get Historia back onto the throne. Anyway, this was originally going to be split into 2 chapters, but the first one would have been short so I just combined them.

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Chapter 3: The Fall of The House of Reiss

Armin unfolded the letter.

_Hi everyone, I'm sorry I sent the rest of you all the way over here. I'm also sorry that you came all the way here just to read more letters. I wrote about my past so you can know the truth about the real Christa: Historia Reiss._

"Great. Another letter to read about the truth."

_Ever since I was born, I was viewed as a burden and a great mistake. I was unwanted by everyone in my family, because it is true that I was an illegitimate child. I grew up here on this estate miserably and lonely. The only ones to talk to me were my so called grandparents, but it was only to give me orders and chores to do around the estate. _

_My mother stayed on the estate with me, however she never spoke a word to me. I could always find her under the same spot of a tree reading. She ignored all of my questions and my existence. She never showed any affection towards me. I tried to hug her once, but she slapped me away and took refuge in the house. She never came anywhere near me again. Despite that, I was...happy, it was the first time my mother had even touched me. Never again did I try anything like that, because I knew I would only ever be the servant here._

_When news spread about the fall of Wall Maria, I remember my father actually came to the estate. When he showed up, there were two men acting as guards and a woman with him. I had never seen the woman before. She had brown hair and eyes. My father approached me and told me that he would take me back with him to the Reiss household where I would be recognized as a Reiss. He introduced me to the woman beside him, telling me that she was my mother. I pointed to the blonde woman standing on the porch of the house and told him that I thought she was my mother. The guards grabbed me and put me in the carriage with my father and my supposed mother. On the way, we were stopped by the Military Police. My father and the woman denied any connection to me. They took knives to our throats anyway. The woman turned to me and spoke her last words: "I wish you hadn't been born." My father made a deal with the men. He and I wouldn't be killed if I assumed a new name and disappeared from the Reiss family. It was then that I became Christa Lenz. _

Christa had a terrible past. I couldn't imagine if my family had never spoken to me whatsoever.

_Later, I learned something that Annie didn't even know when she wrote the letters that are being passed around. I didn't know what to think when I had gained the knowledge. All the more my life felt like a lie. My father wasn't a very loyal husband, as he messed around with various women. I learned that the brunette woman was my illegitimate mother, because she was married to my father. However, the blonde woman I grew up with on the estate was my biological mother. She had been a former prostitute my father had rescued, and had given her the opportunity to work as a maid at the Reiss household._

How does Christa smile so much with a childhood like this?

_My illegitimate mother my father had been married to was Lady Maroma Reiss, a woman of a noble family arranged in marriage with my father. But, my real mother was the maid/former prostitute my father had rescued and conceived with out of wedlock. Biologically, I am the legitimate daughter of Lord Lod Reiss and Agatha Leonhardt._

Armin's eyes widened. "That means…"

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By the time Armin had returned to the house, it was almost noon.

"Hey, Armin, where were you? Mikasa and I came to wake you up earlier but you weren't in your room."

"Hm? Oh, I just went to the city for a walk and looked around."

Good thing Eren was oblivious and Armin was good at convincing people.

Armin went up to his room after telling his friends he wanted to rest. In reality, he wasn't in the mood for anything as those letters of Annie practically sucked the curiosity from him.

"Man, Annie and Christa half sisters? I never would have guessed. Maybe that's why Annie had a natural non-tense connection to her." Armin rubbed his temples as he let out a sigh. He sat on his bed to unwind, but the slight sound of paper crumpling caught his attention.

He pulled the large envelope he had stuck under his mattress earlier out. "I never thought I'd get sick of reading." He stood up to pour the contents out on the desk and moved the first two envelopes aside. He held the envelope with the calligraphically written "3" to his face and stared at it.

"Who is it this time?" His heart pounded as he silently hoped it wasn't him. This was the third time Armin prayed he would not be on the list, but that was far too wishful thinking. He knew the reality was that as long as these letters had shown up to him, he would find himself on here.

Armin went through the motions and prepared himself for what could be in here. He looked at the red wax seal of the goddess Sina. He popped it off and reached inside slowly. He hesitated once the contents were in his hand. Armin unfolded the third letter.

_Letter number three, huh? Well, I guess we're almost halfway there. Step-by-step, one letter after the other. We're slowly getting there and then it'll all be over. Maybe. It'll get better. Or worse. Depends on your philosophy and point of view. _

_Let's get in to it. This letter is a little different, because it combines two people. _

Armin gulped.

_Ready, Reiner and Bertholdt?_

_Everyone, you should already know Reiner and Bert's secret by now. I'm writing these assuming that the plan has taken place by the time this reaches the rest of you. These two are special cases and I had personally given them a separate letter, but don't worry, this will still contain information you're all just...dying...to hear. _

_These two morons were my partners in crime, but honestly, I hate them both. But, I needed both of them to go with the plan. As much as I hate them, especially Reiner, they were the only help I had. Now, Reiner is the armored titan and Bert is the colossal, but no one gives a damn about that anymore. This is more about their past._

_I'm going to break the stereotypes. If you think people like us are monsters when we're titans, you should know, as humans, we can be devils. You've seen the destruction Reiner and Bertholdt had made as titans, but you think they're tame as people? This is where I differ from them. You see, I look 16, because, well, I'm actually 16. These two may look 16, but they're actually about 30, meaning they've been around for some time longer than you'd think. How many of those years do you think were spent in innocence? _

_I'm starting with Reiner. Back when he was legitimately 16, he had been in the business of illegal work for about three years. He worked his way up to being a 'manager' in the human trafficking operation working under Mina's dad. As you know, me, Reiner, and Bert are all from the same place. I wish I knew what pieces of shit they were back then. When I was little, they were just like any other adults in the city to me. I hate Reiner, because I later found out that he was the motherfucker who had ordered the abduction of my mother in the first place. So no, I don't like him any more than the rest of you do. It angered me to know that he was one of the only people who could help me with this titan shit. But believe me, when it's over, I plan to beat his ass like a runaway slave. _

_On to Bertholdt. I hate him a little less, but I know someone who will hate him even more. What do you guys remember of Bertholdt? His shyness? His height? You know what I remember? His history. His shyness actually makes him a very good stealthy killer. His early years were full of murder. Funny isn't it? Him killing other human is murder, but human's killing one of us is justice. Armin, your letter isn't up yet, but this fact is for you._

Armin gripped the paper tightly and held his breath.

_You are the one who will hate Bertholdt even more than me. He was an assassin associated with the group that had killed King Landry Reiss years before, funded by none other than the wall cult. Those freaks glorify these walls so much that they are the reason knowledge from the past outside world is forbidden inside. The cult had discovered your parents' plans to travel the world and had them dealt with. And Bertholdt was the man for the job._

Tears began to form in Armin's eyes. "No. No no no no no."

_I remember you were somewhat close to Bert back in our trainee days, which probably makes this harder to swallow. Bertholdt Hoover is responsible for the death of your parents. I'll spare you details. I'm not a complete monster, I know this is a sensitive subject. If it makes you feel better, I was planning on kicking his ass too. _

_Love, Annie Leonhardt._

Armin had a flashback to the day Wall Maria fell and the trio were in the boat fleeing to Rose. Eren's words echoed in his head and began to boil his own blood. "_Kuchiku shite yaru, kono yo kara, ippiki nokorazu. (I'll kill them all, not even a single one of them will be left.)"_

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So, school is starting soon and updates will probably be slowed down. I'm thinking of also writing a pair fanfic possibly springles, let me know what you guys think about that. Also, even though I know I have a small audience, I appreciate your guys' reviews, they're very motivating :)


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